Pet Health

My neighbor just told me that heartworm in cats is becoming a problem and that I should have all of my cats on a heartworm preventative. She made me feel sort of guilty, I can just barely afford the heartworm preventative for my dog, much less my cats? Is  this really necessary?

I have a question about my cat, Thumper.  Why does he scratch wallpaper and walls?  What can I do to make him stop?  I’d like to re-wallpaper our kitchen, and fix the walls where he has dug the plaster, but am hesitant to do so without having a plan on how to keep him from doing it again.

We know that many of you try hard to find the best quality food available for your pets. And it can be tricky. Recently, Diamond Pet Foods issued voluntary recalls of some batches of its Diamond Naturals Kitten Formula as well as several brands from its Premium Edge line of products.

My cat, Nelly, is overweight and not in the best of health (not for reasons related to her weight, so don’t try to make me feel guilty about that) but as a result she is not very good at grooming herself. In fact, she is sort of grungy.  I am thinking she would feel better, and so would I, if I could give her a bath.

I was just in my local farm store and the baby chicks were in. They were so adorable, I am thinking about getting some for the kids for Easter.  What do you think? Would they make good pets for us?

On my way to work every morning I drive by a pasture where I can see some horses off in the distance sort of in the woods. They are there every single morning no matter how cold or rainy or windy it is. Is this right? I don’t think horses should be treated like this.

I just found out that I am pregnant and I am very excited about that. But, also a little worried. I have two cats and I have heard that that I can catch some sort of parasite from them that can cause serious problems with my pregnancy. Is that true? What should I do?

I have always heard that a dog’s mouth, on average, is cleaner than a human’s mouth. In fact, they say that dog saliva is an antiseptic and that is why dogs lick at wounds. I use that fact to justify my habit of kissing my dog, Spot, (OK so he’s a Dalmatian).

My big old goofy golden retriever, Sam, is eight years old now and will be due for his annual check up soon. He is due for his various vaccination boosters this year, but I am wondering whether it is really necessary, given his age.